Beat Food Inflation

Worrying about the price of food increasing more and more
each time you go shopping ? Then you need an aquaponic system in your backyard .
You don't need a huge operation , just a space the size of a small carport will do.
Find a space that size that gets lots of sunshine and you are ready to go.

We have a book for $100 that tells you everything you need to know
and has blueprints for the construction of a small system.
Friendly Aquaponics  wrote the book . They have a huge system
and years of experience growing and teaching others to grow .

http://www.friendlyaquaponics.com

Aquaponics cheap and easy

Even Zero Hedge is getting on the aquaponics soapbox.
See what they say about food shortages and easy ways to grow your own.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-09-27/guest-post-two-no-brainer-ways-play-rising-food-prices

Here on the Big Island at the End of Summer

Here on the Big Island, at the end of summer, my garden fed by
fish droppings is  once again flourishing.

The aquaponic system has been struggling along for
several months as we added a third trough to the system.
In the process of expanding and changing our system we unknowingly allowed 8 tiny tilapia to get into the plant troughs.  As we replaced plants and waited for things to grow , nothing happened.

 For two months  nothing happened! The lettuce starts just sat there. The 8  sneaky tilapia were
eating the roots of all the plants.

After many water tests and checks , we took the floats off of all  three troughs and discovered  eight  6 inch tilapia . We chased them down with nets and returned them to the fish tanks where they originated.

Now two weeks later we again have an abundance of vegetables.

Mosquito Control

Many people have complained about the mosquitos that breed in our plant
troughs. There is a very simple solution for this problem.
Just add a few of any kind of aquarium fish to each trough.
In no time at all you will have hundreds of tiny fish swimming around and
eating all the mosquito larva.

Soon you will notice that there are very few mosquitos in
your aquaponics area.

Lives Forever

My favorite tomato can now live forever.

Every time it gets to that stage where it is dying back I
simply cut 3 or 4  six inch green tips off the plant and stick them back into
the aquaponic system.  By the time the first plant is done the
cuttings are up and going.

This method works much quicker than growing from seed
and is very easy. Put each cutting in a net pot and have it stick out the bottom about 2 inches.
Put some of  planting medium ( wet coconut husk and vermiculite)
in the net pot and around the cutting. Place the whole thing back into the aquaponic system.

Enjoy tomatoes year round .

Strange Things

Strange things seem to come up in my aquaponics system when I
stop paying attention for a few days. the latest 'stranger ' to appear
is a Mamaki plant. There  is a Mamaki bush about 4 feet from the
system so I am sure that is the mother of this plant.

The interesting thing is that  no seedlings have ever come up under the mother plant.
Also , all the cuttings I have tried to root failed.

But fate or a bird  or an insect carried a seed to the system and it
is growing like gangbusters without any human intervention.

For those of you who do not live in Hawaii , I need to explain that
Mamaki is an endangered Hawaiian  medicinal plant  that is used by the Hawaiians.

Where to Get Seeds

I often get asked " where do you get your seeds ?" and the
answer  is " here and there".
Right now I am seeing a decline in seed germination regardless
of where I obtain the seeds. Local seeds from store racks
seem to be among the worst.

My favorite seed supplier is Baker Creek , but even their seeds
have lost the high percentage of germination rate they had in the past.

Perhaps we should all attempt to save our own seeds and see what the germination rate looks like.

In aquaponic systems it is best to have your seeds started
in a holding table area away from your main system.
That way you only put sprouted plants into your system.
I  can have over 300 plants growing at one time in my
system so my sprouting table usually has about 200
net pots with seeds waiting to sprout and grow roots out
the bottom. You really need those roots showing before you
put the new plant into the system.

Mongoose Solution

We have finally resorted to violence toward the mongoose.

Lead poisoning cures mongoose egg theft.

One old sniper with an air rifle and lots of time
will probably get the grandaddy of all mongoose .

Mongoose Disturbing the Cycle

Mongoose  live everywhere at lower elevations in Hawaii.

They were first brought here to kill off the rats.
Back then no one seemed to notice that the  Hawaiian
rat is  nocturnal and mongoose go to bed at night. So now we have an abundance of mongoose and rats!

The mongoose is deceptively cute little guy. He resembles
a Dachshund that has a tiny head. You'll see him scurry across the road
yet seldom comes in contact with cars. He is fast and very smart .
He will hiss like a snake with a foghorn and has a set of teeth
resembling needles .

Our problem is we feed all left over aquaponic trimmings to
our chickens and thus enjoy eggs via the system.

In steps the grandaddy of the mongoose world. He sneaks into the hen house
even though the 9 pound rooster in charge , Son-of -Thor, is
loudly protesting . He sticks a long sharp canine tooth into
an egg and gently puts his front paws around the egg then
stands up on his hind legs and walks out with the egg.

We have trapped and "eliminated " many of this particular mongoose's
offspring , he, however , continues to avoid our traps.

Beauty and Money

Aquaponics doesn't have to be all about food. Some growers have been
known to plant
the whole system in flowers when a special occasion arises.

 Having a wedding in June ? Plant flowers in April
 and you will have a ton of blossoms for the event.

Or need a little extra cash ? Grow a batch of lowers before a holiday and take them
to the local farmers market .

 Blossoms sell around Mother's Day, Easter, Valentines Day,
Christmas, Memorial Day etc.

Strawberries in Aquaponics

Strawberries grow and multiply and bear fruit like mad in
an  aquaponic system.  The plants thrive on the high nutrients
in the water and they will " spider " and create new plants that can be pinched off
an used to start a new plant.

 A mature plant will bear loads of berries.
If you are lucky enough to have a cooler climate you will be blessed
with a long fruit season,

Here at 400 foot elevation my plants bear fewer berries.

What's in Your Net Pot ?

What's a net pot ? It is a little plastic basket that sits in
a hole in the floating styrofoam. The styrofoam floats on the water in the
plant troughs.

 Most growers start their plants in
net pots then move the pots to the aquaponic system.

You can use any one of a number of things in your net pot, but I use coconut fiber.
You can buy it in a big dried block . When the block is wet it expands to 8 times its
dried size.  I add some vermiculite and stir . Put it in your net pots and plant your seeds.
Net pots should be kept damp until the seeds sprout. Once a root comes out the bottom
it is time to put that pot in the trough.

More Money

The last topic about making money seemed to generate an increase
in readers. I have to assume the worsening economy is driving people  to
to look for  new creative ways to increase their income. We are all in that
boat now and growing local food can help you generate a little
money.

My best advice, other than growing Basil and selling it , would be to
grow and sell bunching onions. The easiest way to do this is to go
to your local farmers market and look for someone selling bunching onions.

Take a bunch home and wash it in a 10% bleach solution. Then rinse thoroughly.
Cut the bottom 1/4 of the onions off. Eat the top and divide and plant the bottom.
Put one onion start in each net pot. Within 2 or 3 weeks ,
 depending on your hours of sun, you should have a new bunch of
onions in each net pot.
When you harvest your onions , keep one  from each net pot to replant.

If you cannot find bunching onions in your farmers market  ,
go to a seed catalog and order seeds. My favorite seed source is
Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. but there are many out there.

Here on the Big Island,
a bunch of 4 or 5 green onions typically sells for $1.99.

How To Make Money with Aquaponics

When your backyard aquaponics is up and running you are going to have
too many vegetables to readily eat. The extra can be given away OR
you can find someone selling produce at  a farmers market and sell
your extra to him.

If you want to grow something to sell, basil is a good thing to raise .
It grows fast and there is a demand. Cut it and package it
attractively and you will have a small steady income.

I like to sell  at least enough to cover the price of my fish food and the little
bit of electricity my pump uses, then my system is totally self sustaining.

Aquaponics Book

If you are out there thinking about building your own aquaponics  system
you might like to buy this book from me.  It includes detailed professional blueprints
and directions to build your own Microaquaponic system. (My system has
two 100 gallon fish tanks and two 8x4 foot plant troughs. ) The book gives you
all the set up and grow information , materials list, fish and plant information and lots more.

Materials for  this system run anywhere
from $1000 to $1500 depending on where you live. Here in Hawaii materials
are  more expensive than on the mainland US.

The book by Friendly Aquaponics "Outdoor Micro Systems Do It Yourself Manual "
is $100.  Email me  for more information   :
hawaiimicroaquaponic@gmail.com

Or go visit the writers , my friends,  at friendlyaquaponics.com . They have a huge
aquaponic system .

Starting Plants from Cuttings

A plant sprouting holding table is necessary in an aquaponic system.
I have a long narrow table that is shaped like a rectangular baking pan.
Net pots filled with planting medium (coconut fiber and vermiculite)
set in the pan after the seeds are inserted. Water flows through this pan,
then out the drain at one end. Seeds sprout here in the sun and wait to be inserted into the
aquaponic system. Germination may occur in days or weeks , depending on the type
of seed and the weather.

There are shortcuts  in aquaponic system planting. As a beginner this is a good one to try:

Take an 8 or 10 inch  cutting from the top of your favorite tomato plant.
Insert it into an empty net pot until it goes at least an inch through the bottom  of the pot.
Fill in the net pot around the cutting with coconut mix  planting medium.
Cut all but the top two or three leaves from the cutting.
Insert net pot in the aquaponic system and STAND back.
You are about to have an incredible growing experience.

Planting to foil the insects

No pesticides can be used in an aquaponics system that has live fish dwelling there.  The fish  water is circulated through the troughs where the vegetables live and then returned clean to the fish tank. 

Any pesticide on the plants will be dripped into the water and  will kill your fish. Therefore , dealing with insects is tricky.

About the only thing you can do is to plant  'stinky' things that repel insects.  My favorites are :

bunching onions, basil, and french marigolds.  I scatter the 'stinky plants' throughout the system with extras near the beans , peas and cabbage type plants. The onions and basil  we eat  when they mature, 

 the marigolds  are just pretty.  French Marigolds will grow into huge creatures

and take over your system , if you let them. They need heavy pruning and after a couple of months replaced with new small starts. I take the old marigolds and plant them in the ground nearby . They rarely even wilt and continue to grow and chase away the insects.

We have small mosquito fish living under the vegetable troughs to control the 

mosquito  population. The mosquitoes lay eggs in the water and the tiny mosquito fish 

eat the larvae . Occasionally the mosquito fish population  explodes and we scoop out a 

few  and the chickens have a treat eating the extra small fish. .

Tubers in an Aquaponic system

Did you ever wonder how to grow root crops in an aquaponic system?
It can be done and the results taste great. The trick is to use really big net pots
filled with lots of coconut medium .

For carrots, parsnips, beets , you can plant a circle
of seeds in each pot. Taro , a tropical tuber, works also.

Of course this means you need to make big holes in your  floats and insert the big filled net pot.
If you can't find big net pots  , take a regular black plastic pot and slice pieces out along the sides
and bottom of the pot.

Happy weed free gardening !

Start a Tree

If you want to really give a seedling tree a jumpstart ,
do this :

Start the seed in a net pot filled with coconut fiber and vermiculite.

Once the seed germinates put the net pot in the aquaponic system  and
leave it there until the tree is about 12 inches tall.

Take the tree and net   pot out of the aquaponic system
and plant it wherever you want  it to grow. Do not try to remove the plant from the net pot.
Just pant the whole thing in the ground . Be sure to water it
a lot when you  plant it and for the next two weeks.

Stand back and watch it grow ! You will be amazed.

Sexy Vicious Fish

Tilapia like privacy when they breed , usually. We have a special tank just for 'breeders'.
That is where they are suppose to have sex and make little fish. The two big tanks are where they  grow and turn into fish fillets.

Last week we noticed something was eating the roots of the plants and the tiny mosquito fish in the plant troughs were disappearing. So we did a test. Dropped a few pieces of fish food in a  plant trough and watched .
Several 6 inch Tilapia came in for a snack. We repeated it with a fish net in hand.
Several fish later we thought we had them all.  Three days later we repeated the test and caught several two inch Tilapia.
So how did they get from the breeding tanks into the fillet tank and through the filters and into the plant troughs?  Seems some of the fillet fish didn't mind having sightseers around when they made whoopee.
They created fry and when we washed the filters the tiny fry swam into the troughs . Then they ate
the mosquito fish and some of the plant roots . After a month or so they were doing some real damage to the system.

Guess we need to be faster when we wash filters.

If You are TIRED of pulling weeds then…….

If you are tired of pulling weeds then aquaponics is the way for you to go.
I have had a system for a year and half and can count the weeds I have pulled out of the system
on my fingers .
This is the ideal lazy way to grow vegetables . I feed the fish everyday
and stick seeds in net pots once a month. Then I sit back for 3 or 4 weeks
and wait for my crop .

Even if you are 80 + you can handle this !